The Department of Political Science Presents

1. The Department of Political Science Presents The Territory of Somewhat Requited Dreams:  Creating an ethnically-sensitive state in Nunavut Dr. Annis May Timpson Director of Canadian Studies University of Edinburgh Science Building Lecture Theatre February 12, 2008 @ 7:30pm

2. Italy Toward a Second Republic?

3. Demise of the 1rst Republic • Pentapartito and its problems: • Flashback to the 1970s: the coalition that wasn’t • DC’s soft hegemony: • Alliance with an increasingly stronger PSI • Broadening the coalition: PSDI, PRI, PLI • Keeping the coalition together: • Lottazione, and clientelismo run rampant

4. Problems: • Managing the economy: • Difficulties controlling costs in light of scala mobile, EU’s 1992 project, ‘needs’ of parties • Decreasing trust & legitimacy in a country not long on either • Growth of protest parties: • Bossi’s Lega Nord • Changing political context: • End of Cold War > no reason to exclude Communists in convento ad excludem

5. Initiatives • Activities of investigating magistrates: • Da Pietro (Milan): Tangentopoli • Attempts to reform DC from within (Da Mita • Growth of ‘party-lets’ proposing reform • Increasingly active civil society • Referendum initiatives • 1993 repeal of proportional component of the Senate’s electoral law force’s politicians’ hand

6. The new electoral law: • Joint parl. committee struggles to reach agreement: • Options: • binomale – or French system • MMP (German system) • Solution: the worst of both worlds • ¾ of Chamber of Deputies and Senate elected by SMP • ¼ via proportional allocation • Collapse of the previous party system • Members, activists, voters head for the exits • Improbable result: • Fragmented bipolarity (clustered multipartyism) • a party system more fragmented than the one which it replaces

7. The new party system: Competition between two clusters: • Polo (casa) di liberta • A new party, Forza Italia (FI) plus: • Lega Nord (Northern Leagues) • Alleanza Nazionale (AN) • Formerly MSI (ex neo-fascists) • Rump of Christian Democrats • Ulivo (Olive) • PDS (DS), Democratic Left – ex-PCI • Populare (ex DC) • 7 other parties • Occasional support from RC- Refondazione Communista = left of PCI

8. Parties • Forza Italia: • Founded by Silvio Berlusconi, media tycoon, owner of AC Milan football club • Built on the advertising arm of his media empire • A business-firm party • Lega Nord: • Anti-immigrant, anti-EU • Demand an independent ‘Padania (North of Italy) • AN – National Alliance = ex-fascists, cleaned up & no longer excluded

9. Ulive • PDS (now DS) as its core: • Reform communists, pragmatists • But without the mass base of PCI – • And without the Refounded Communists (RC) • Disparate alliance: • Large numbers of party-lets makes it difficult to keep alliance together

10. Explaining the outcome: • Why did electoral reform fail? • Why is resuscitated PR (from 2005) not doing much better?

11. The new politics of government formation: • End of partocracy & soft one party dominance • Alternation of governments • Berlusconi & Liberta, 1994-1996 • Ulive (Prodi D’Alema..) 1996-2001 • Berlusconi, 2001-2006 • Centre-left (Prodi) 2006-Jan. 2008 • 2008 & beyond?

12. Problems: • The unreformed state • Maintaining EU budget norms • Increasingly shaky cabinets • Reforming the electoral law – again • Is there a second Republic?